At a time when colleges across the country are bracing for declining enrollment, Chancellor Darrell T. Allison is focused on a more direct question: What would happen if Fayetteville State University simply wasn’t there?
The answer—whether the university would be missed, and how deeply it is tied to the region—has shaped Allison’s vision over the past five years, influencing enrollment strategy to campus development and partnerships across Fayetteville.
That approach comes as colleges nationwide prepare for the long-anticipated demographic cliff—a decline in the number of traditional college-age students. National projections show the number of college-age students is expected to fall by about 13% by 2041, reshaping enrollment patterns across higher education.
In the meantime, colleges are already facing enrollment pressure. Undergraduate enrollment remains below pre-pandemic levels nationally, according to data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
While the national outlook points to contraction, the impact is expected to vary by region. In North Carolina, the number of high school graduates is projected to increase by about 6% through 2041, according to data from the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, though that growth does not necessarily translate directly into increased college enrollment.
Even so, competition for students is expected to intensify—making Fayetteville State’s recent growth notable.
At the five-year mark of Allison’s tenure—the 54-year-old who grew up in Kannapolis started as chancellor on March 18, 2021—the university is pointing to rising enrollment, a growing population of military-affiliated students, major state-backed construction of new buildings, and economic development projects tied to campus as signs that the historically Black university is expanding its footprint in Fayetteville and beyond.
“If Fayetteville State University was wiped off the face of the Earth today, would we be missed?” Allison said in an interview with CityView. “And number two, how quickly would the city of Fayetteville, Cumberland County and the Sandhills region respond?”
For Allison, the answer to those questions has shaped much of the university’s recent strategy—from new academic pathways and military recruitment efforts to development along Murchison Road and a push for more diversified revenue streams.
‘We Have Several Cranes on This Campus’
Allison said one of the most visible signs of change during his tenure has been the scale of campus construction.
He described Fayetteville State, founded in 1867 and known as the second-oldest public university in North Carolina, as historically under-resourced compared with peer institutions in the UNC System. When he arrived, Allison said, many campus buildings dated from the 1920s through the 1960s, and large-scale construction had been mostly absent for decades.
“We haven’t seen a crane on this campus in over 20 years,” Allison said, describing the state of development when he arrived.
Now, he said, the university has secured more than $200 million in capital investment and is preparing to open or complete several major projects, including a new residence hall, a health and wellness center, a parking deck, and a new College of Education building.
“What I am fortunate to say is that our state leaders heard us,” Allison said. “Not only did they hear us, but to respond now with over $200 million-plus dollars of capital investment—it’s bigger than just buildings.”
Among the projects he highlighted was the university’s health and wellness center, which he said will fill a longstanding gap for FSU students.
“The fact now that we’re going to cut the ribbon on a health and wellness center,” Allison said, “where many of our students come from Tier 1 and Tier 2 counties, it’s not only important for the health, but the mental health that goes along with everything that we’re doing on the academic side.”
The North Carolina Department of Commerce each year ranks the state’s 100 counties based on economic well-being and economic distress. Forty counties are ranked Tier 1, which is most distressed; 40 counties are ranked Tier 2; 20 counties receive Tier 3, or least distressed, status. For 2026, Cumberland was ranked Tier 1.
For students and residents alike, Allison said, the visible construction matters.
“We have several cranes on this campus,” he said.
Growth Along Murchison Road
Beyond the physical transformation of campus, Allison said the university has also been intentional about its role in redevelopment along Murchison Road. The corridor has been the focus of renewed redevelopment efforts in Fayetteville, including a proposed $26 million plan to rebuild aging public housing and create mixed-income communities near the university. The corridor has suffered from decades of segregation and disinvestment, and is home to a high concentration of low‑income residents and aging public‑housing communities
That vision of a redeveloped corridor, Allison said, has helped shape decisions about where to place new university facilities and how to connect them with the surrounding community.
“I really wanted to make sure that we had the health and wellness center right there off of Murchison, where you’re coming up from the city—it’s the first thing that you see on the right,” Allison said. “I saw this as a potential beautiful gateway.”
He described the corridor as a space where city and university priorities intersect. Projects tied to the university, he said, are a signal that FSU sees itself as part of Fayetteville’s broader future rather than an institution operating in isolation.
“That was very strategic,” Allison said. “Welcome to Fayetteville State University—but Fayetteville to your left, this is an endeavor that our city worked on; to your right, this is something that Fayetteville State University worked on.”
Bronco Midtown: The Business Case for Growth
One of the clearest examples of that broader approach is the university’s work at Bronco Midtown, formerly known as Bronco Square.
Fayetteville State bought the property in 2021 for $5 million. Allison said owning the property, which sits at the corner of Filter Plant Drive and Murchison Road, gives the university greater control over a site that now includes commercial tenants and the Fayetteville-Cumberland Regional Entrepreneur and Business Hub.
“That was big for us as a university, as a Historically Black College and University,” Allison said, “in the sense that now across the street … we have a way where we can now have more diversified revenue funds.”
The university later rebranded the property as Bronco Midtown, a name Allison said signals FSU’s connection to the larger city, not just the campus.
“It was very important that we understand, yes, we’re a state university,” he said. “But the first [name] is Fayetteville, and that we’ve got to be thinking … how do we show up for the citizens of Fayetteville?”
The development now includes national brands such as Chick-fil-A and Starbucks, as well as the entrepreneurship hub created in partnership with the city and Cumberland County.
Allison said the hub has helped launch new businesses, support job creation and retention, and assist companies in securing millions of dollars in government contracts. He framed those results not simply as university achievements, but as regional ones.
“These are numbers that we just don’t boast as numbers,” Allison said. “We’re boasting this for the city of Fayetteville, for Cumberland County, and the greater Sandhills region.”
‘We Cannot Be Caught Up in Shiny Objects’
As new businesses and amenities come to campus-adjacent spaces, Allison acknowledged that growth also raises questions about how those areas function for students, employees, and the broader public. He said the university is trying to plan growth in partnership with local stakeholders and remain mindful of the people affected by it.
“We cannot be caught up in shiny objects,” Allison said. “The principal thing is people.”
He said the university stays in communication with city and county leaders and has tried to consider not only the opportunities created by new development, but also the challenges that may come with it.
“We’re not just going to talk about the positive, but we’re also going to talk about the threats,” Allison said. “We do have some weaknesses, and we do have some threats. And we’ve got to be mindful of community.”
As activity around campus increases, he said the university will continue to have discussions about investments in safety, pedestrian infrastructure such as sidewalks and walkways, and traffic and roadway needs.
‘We Could Do Better than Geography’
Another major piece of FSU’s growth strategy has been its relationship with the military community. Fayetteville State has long had geographic proximity to one of the nation’s largest military installations in Fort Bragg. But Allison said that before his arrival, the university’s connection to the base was often treated more as a talking point than a deeply developed strategy.
“We pretty much all that we could say in terms of our connection to the largest military installation in the nation is that basically we’re seven, eight miles away,” he said. “I just felt like we could do better than that.”
In 2022, the university launched a four-year tuition-free scholarship for military-affiliated students, including active-duty service members, reservists, veterans, spouses, and dependents. Allison said the program helped fuel major growth in that student population.
When he arrived, Allison said the university had roughly 1,500 to 1,600 military-affiliated students. Today, he said, that number is close to 2,300, accounting for about 34% of the student body.
That, he said, gives FSU the highest percentage of military-affiliated students in the UNC System.
The university has also expanded its formal partnerships. Allison said Fayetteville State became the first university to sign an educational partnership agreement with the XVIII Airborne Corps, laying groundwork for education, training, and research collaboration.
“We’re excited beyond just geography,” Allison said.
Facing Demographic Cliff with Affordability
For all the visible construction and regional partnerships, Allison tied the university’s growth most directly to one issue: whether students and families still see a four-year degree as worth the cost.
“That is being had in a real serious way at the kitchen table of families and citizens,” he said. “Is a four-year college degree worth it in the 21st century?”
At Fayetteville State, Allison said, the university has tried to answer that question with affordability and outcomes.
A typical year at FSU—including tuition, fees, housing, meals, and other expenses—ranges from about $21,000 to $26,000, depending on a student’s living situation. But many students pay significantly less.
Through the NC Promise program, in-state tuition is reduced to $500 per semester, lowering the overall cost of attendance, particularly when combined with financial aid and scholarships.
Allison also pointed to a four-year, tuition-free scholarship for military-affiliated students, launched in 2022, which he said is available to active-duty service members, reservists, veterans, spouses and dependents.
The university has also leaned on its “30-60-90” free summer school model, designed to help students stay on track to graduate in four years or less. Under that model, students can earn up to seven credits during the summer, with the university covering housing and meal costs for eligible students who need them.
“So on one end, we want to be affordable,” Allison said. “But the second piece is we want them to get it done in four years or less. That’s less debt, less money that’s coming out of their pocket.”
He also said the university has been more deliberate about creating programs tied to workforce needs, citing areas such as cybersecurity, supply chain management, construction management, and health-related fields.
“We’re actually quizzing and querying our industry leaders,” Allison said. “We want high-demand, high-dollar programs, degrees that’s really going to have an impact in the lives of our citizens.”
That strategy, he said, has helped the university grow as many institutions prepare for enrollment declines. Allison said FSU’s enrollment was around 5,600 in 2021, surpassed 7,000 for the first time last year, and reached about 7,600 at the start of the 2025-26 academic year. He said the university is on track to approach 8,000 students by fall 2026.
“With that question mark,” Allison said, referring to the value of higher education, “we want to straighten it out and say at Fayetteville State University—exclamation point—it is.”
A Growing Role in Research
Allison said the university is also expanding its role in applied research, even if it is not seeking to become a top-tier research institution on the scale of larger universities.
When he arrived, Allison said FSU’s research portfolio stood at about $15 million. By January 2026, he said, that total had grown to more than $46 million.
He also pointed to a recent $345,631 federal appropriation that will support research focused on environmental contaminants and public health in southeastern North Carolina, including the detection of PFAS, or “forever chemicals.”
“This investment is a testament to Fayetteville State University’s leadership in addressing the most pressing environmental and public health challenges in our region,” Allison said.
For Allison, that growth reflects another way FSU can increase its relevance and create meaningful opportunities for students to build experience beyond classrooms.
“Here’s another way of how we can have greater impact,” he said.
As he enters his sixth year, Allison is framing Fayetteville State’s next chapter as one defined by growth, visibility, and deeper ties to the city around it.
“It’s a great time for the second-oldest public university of North Carolina,” he said. “I think it’s time.”
For a university navigating a moment when higher education leaders across the country are increasingly worried about shrinking enrollment, Allison’s pitch is that FSU’s future depends on proving its value— to students, employers, military families and Fayetteville itself.
“We cannot afford not to have Fayetteville State University being its strongest, most powerful self,” he said, “because it’s so vitally connected to the overall health and sustainability of this city and this county and region.”
